Since 1957, New York courts have required contingent fee lawyers to file closing statements that disclose settlement amounts, lawyers\u27 fees, an accounting of expenses, and other information. This Article provides a preliminary analysis of these data for the period 2004- 2013. Among this Article\u27s findings are that settlement rates in New York state courts are very high (84%) relative to previous studies; that very few cases are resolved by dispositive motions; that litigated cases and settled cases have almost exactly the same average recovery; that median litigation expenses, other than attorney\u27s fees, are 3% of gross recovery; that claims are disproportionately from poor neighborhoods; and that attorneys\u27 fees are almost always one-third of net recovery, which is the maximum allowed by law
